Remember back in the day when Ronald Reagan told the Iranians that they had to release the hostages after he took office? They were in fact released when he took office. Reagan, didn’t miss a beat when it came time to muscle up with the Iranians. Iranians were patently afraid of him and knew that their hostage drama was over. Granted this is a Republican myth, and the story goes much deeper than that, and it was actually Carter’s negotiations and release of assets and money that eventually won their release.
But, the story told to the public was that the United States negotiated from a position of strength with Reagan. It resonated with hard line Republicans so much that it became more than just a myth. It was however one that all Republicans and Americans got behind and retold throughout time. If Republicans are still hard line and not Russian appeasers, they could end the Ukrainian war overnight by using this same position of strength attitude that red blooded Americans would get behind.
After Ted Koppel and his day 257, 258, 259 reports of the hostage drama made Americans sick of listening to it, America finally had a President who showed the strength that Jimmy Carter just couldn’t bring himself to be after years of using soft power and diplomacy had failed. Sometimes diplomacy fails when your enemy knows that’s all you’ll try and use. But when force or the fear of force is suddenly applied, the reaction from that is often swift. I don’t doubt that the Iranians were afraid of Reagan and his hard line war hawks, so while money and assets were given away in trade, my thoughts still end up with it being the sleeping giant being awakened in America that made the Iranians shiver on a hot day.
Remember when GW Bush 2 told Saddam Hussein that he had 48 hours to get the fuck out of town? Yeah, shock and awe when he didn’t do as he was told.
President George Bush last night gave Saddam Hussein and his sons 48 hours to give up power and go into exile or face invasion by more than a quarter of a million US and British troops massed on Iraq’s borders.
In a televised address to the nation, Mr Bush urged Iraqi soldiers not to fight for a “dying regime” and said they would be given instructions on what to do to avoid being “attacked and destroyed”.
Same thing applies here. Russians use the “probe with a bayonet until steel is met then withdraw” narrative. What’s needed right now to solve the war in Ukraine is a tough no nonsense approach. It’s time to end the proxy war, where we are supplying all the tools, save soldiers or boots on the ground, and get to the business of solving the real problems of the world, minus Vladimir Putin in it.
It’s time to tell Putin publicly that he has 48 hours to get the fuck out of Ukraine or else shock and awe will come calling.
It isn’t about all the diplomatic resolutions and paper pushing this or that anymore. It’s time for some tough love to be applied to Russia and Putin. Putin has lost the war in Ukraine, and here we are trying to give him some off ramp, some face saving thing to get him to withdraw from Ukraine, while he threatens nuclear armageddon as a response.
Well, if the carrot approach fails, it’s time to move to the stick approach. We got the manpower, we got the weapons, and we got the know how to use them. It’s time to say enough is enough and save Ukrainians from all the death and dying they are suffering from day after day. The Ukrainians have shown they are tough and got balls of steel, now we need to show that our backing of them can be just as tough.
Therefore its time, hell, past time to tell Putin he’s got 48 hours to withdraw or the bombs will start dropping shock and awe style on Russia, with the Kremlin being ground zero for the first wave. When Putin sees he has no other choice but to get out of Ukraine or everyone in Russia will pay the price, he will get out. It’s time to give Putin the boot.
America needs to stand up to bullies like Putin, and sometimes the only thing these cowards understand is brute force strength. Right now it’s been just like the Carter years with the hostage drama. Day whatever the hell it is in Ukraine, and no one in the administration has shown the willpower or the strength to end it.
Day after day however, the Ukrainians have shown that they have the will and the balls to go toe to toe with the Ruskies. And so far all we’ve managed to do this side is supply them with the weapons and the training to use them, but only the weapons that go just so far, and not all the way. Also, no boots on the ground, and no ground or air support is given. Those days need to come to an end. Putin has fucked up the world enough. It’s time for him to go, and go with a quickness, just like Saddam Hussein went out, and just like the Iranians went out when they were given a clock to get the fuck out of town or else.
Anything else is just extending things to its ultimate conclusion, where both sides play a war of attrition, and at the end of the day no one really wins anything. Too many people will end up dead while these politicians play those board games. To end it, it needs to be one way or the highway to hell for Putin. And if that means America going toe to toe with the Russians, oh well, too bad so sad for them. We need muscle power at this stage, as diplomacy and thinking about giving Putin an off ramp and face savings and stupid attrition games have not worked. You know what they say, tired of getting sand kicked in your face, time to muscle up!!!
